“What is that on Platform Three?”
Xiao, who had also been observing the medium-sized arenas, noticed the strikingly conspicuous [Cave Stone Ape] on Platform Three. Her gaze, filled with doubt, fixed upon the large screen.
“What in the world? Does this event randomly spawn bosses?”
“That’s a bit terrifying, isn’t it? Thankfully, it’s just a boss from the first region. If a high-level boss had spawned, the Spear Player would be in for a terrible time.”
“Even a low-level boss like that ‘monkey’ would be tough to fight solo. That guy is truly unlucky.”
Indeed, it wasn’t just Xiao; almost every spectator player found their eyes drawn to the old ape’s towering physique. A wave of discussion erupted through the crowd, as those unaware of the truth voiced their opinions.
“No, that’s a boss transformed from a player, likely due to a Companion Skill.”
Yan, who had been steadily watching Platform Three, shook his head and explained to Xiao.
“Ohh~”
Xiao drew out the sound, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“There are even Companion-tier skills of this kind.”
“It’s not surprising for any Companion Skill to appear in ‘Companion God Realm’.”
Yan shrugged with a smile.
“Exactly! The unique Companion Skills and Companion Equipment for each player are precisely the core of ‘Companion God Realm’.”
Alice, with her right hand on her hip and her left index finger lightly raised, affirmed Yan’s statement with a smile.
“It is precisely because of the uniqueness of Companion Skills that player versus player (PK) combat in ‘Companion God Realm’ is so engaging and visually spectacular. This event is also an experiment; the GMs seem to want to test the extent to which Companion-tier skills of varying power influence player PK within this game.”
Ultimately, ‘Companion God Realm’ remains an RPG, but the introduction of Companion-tier abilities makes player versus player encounters incredibly unpredictable, rendering it impossible to simply judge victory or defeat based solely on the combatants’ stats.
“As long as one can skillfully utilize their Companion Skill, it’s not surprising for a low-level player to defeat a high-level one…”
Yan muttered, momentarily lost in thought.
He quickly snapped back to reality, then looked with a helpless smile at Alice, who was posing with her hand on her hip.
“No matter how excitedly you speak, Xiao can’t hear you.”
“I’m not in the same party as her, so she can’t see this ‘you,’ can she?”
“Ugh…”
Alice seemed to finally realize this, her cheeks puffing out in disappointment, letting out a cute, muffled sound.
“Indeed, the standard party limit of only four people is quite inconvenient, isn’t it?”
Yan spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. Just like now, he was in a party with Qing Bai and Tian Jiu, while Xiao, Guan Ying, Ivan, An Dong, and Lian were nearby. Yet, they couldn’t form a single party, and even communication couldn’t be done through the party system. Instead, they had to speak within the immediate area, where even strangers nearby could overhear.
Though, in a full-dive game, most players were accustomed to using local chat most of the time, as it was the closest to real-life communication, like a normal face-to-face conversation.
Yan had merely voiced a casual complaint, but Alice remained silent, a thoughtful expression now gracing her features.
“Speaking of which, a Companion-tier skill that can transform someone into a boss is truly terrifying.”
Xiao watched the old ape’s figure on the large screen, her brows furrowing slightly, a solemn expression on her face.
“Indeed.”
Yan nodded.
“A boss with human intelligence…”
“I certainly wouldn’t want to fight a guy like that.”
He offered a wry smile, and seeing his discomfited expression, Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Me neither, hmm~”
She closed her eyes, slowly stretched her arms upwards, her slender waist bending slightly. A cascade of smooth black hair fell casually behind her head, her delicate body trembling faintly with her movements.
“At this point, Yan, you should embody the spirit of a gentleman. If that fellow truly manages to hold Platform Three, I’ll have to ask you, good sir, to fight him on behalf of this humble maiden.”
She winked playfully, a mischievous smile gracing her lips.
“By the time of the finals tonight, it might not be us choosing our opponents, but them choosing us as theirs.”
Yan found her amusing and reminded her.
“If even Xiao, the highest-level player, has become a delicate young lady, then wouldn’t all the players in this game be utterly frail?”
“Hey, that guy on the platform doesn’t seem all that strong, does he?”
Guan Ying, standing nearby, frowned slightly, a displeased look on his face. Yan chuckled and looked at him.
“Haha, you’ve got a point there.”
Yan then moved closer, lightly nudging him with his elbow.
“I won’t snatch him away from you.”
He leaned in, a mischievous grin playing on his lips, and whispered into Guan Ying’s ear.
“Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?!”
Seeing Guan Ying’s face flush crimson, Yan burst into laughter, quite pleased with his reaction.
‘This guy’s reactions are truly entertaining.’
Yan smiled, clasped his hands behind his head, and stopped chatting with the two, leisurely turning his gaze back to the large screen.
The Challenger, transformed into the old ape, had already gained an absolute advantage, forcing the Spear Player opponent to retreat steadily as the battle neared its end.
The old ape’s attack style was straightforward, typical of a boss. It seemed that the transformed player inherited the BOSS’s skills.
‘But what about its stats?’
If it inherited all attributes, its attack power would be even higher than Yan’s own, equipped with the [Weakening Spear]. As for HP and resistances, there was no need to even mention them.
Yan watched the old ape on the platform, his expression growing slightly more serious as he pondered.
And there was another crucial point.
Bosses in this game had no mana bars.
In other words, a boss’s area-of-effect attacks consumed no mana.
This, it seemed, was the old ape’s most significant advantage in the current arena battle.
The old ape was seen raising its arms high, and a massive red circle appeared on the ground—a boss’s unique AoE (Area of Effect) skill, covering a circular area of approximately 20 yards in radius beneath the Spear Player’s feet.
The Spear Player had no choice but to quickly back-hop and dodge, displacing themselves backwards by 20 yards, barely escaping the red circle’s range.
The next instant, the old ape’s raised arms slammed thunderously into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust where the red circle had been.
‘If the old ape’s damage was the same as the original [Cave Stone Ape]’s, that last hit, if it had connected, would have severely wounded a squishy damage-dealer.’
Yan bit his lower lip, making these calculations in his mind.
Seeing its attack miss, the old ape on the platform again strode forward with its thick legs, closing the distance to the Spear Player in a single step, then swung a punch downwards.
This time, no red circle appeared.
This strike was a basic attack (TL Note: “平A” or ‘ping A’ refers to a basic, auto-attack in gaming).
The punch landed squarely on the Spear Player’s body, knocking off a tenth of his health bar.
This was the boss’s attack pattern: AoE skills dealt high damage and covered a large area, but their wind-up animations were long, making them easy to dodge with movement skills.
Basic attacks, while not dealing high damage, were guaranteed to hit. Moreover, with the old ape’s massive physique, it could cover nearly twenty yards in a single stride, and its attack range extended beyond ten yards.
Currently, the old ape was using its area attacks to force out the opponent’s movement, then, during the opponent’s post-movement animation lock, closing in to deal damage with basic attacks.
Normally, bosses weren’t this difficult to fight because players could freely attack during the boss’s skill animation lock without worrying about their safety.
However, this old ape on the platform was being controlled by a player. Not only could the Spear Player exploit “after-swings” (TL Note: “后摇” or ‘hou yao’ refers to the recovery animation after a skill, during which a character is vulnerable), but the old ape could too!
So now, seeing the old ape rush forward with a basic attack, the Spear Player dared not use any skills to retaliate.
Unlike Yan, he couldn’t freely cancel skills he had already cast. If he were to retaliate with a skill, during his own skill’s animation lock, the old ape could unleash an attack that would deplete most of his health.
Therefore, the Spear Player could only sporadically retaliate with free attacks. However, for a Spear Player, whose basic attack damage wasn’t particularly high, the old ape’s basic attacks dealt more damage and drained health faster than his own.
‘This is practically a checkmate.’
Yan scratched the back of his head, seemingly feeling a touch of helplessness for the Spear Player on stage.
It appeared that the old ape securing this platform was an almost inevitable outcome. Moreover, with this fighting style, at the current stage, there shouldn’t be many players capable of knocking the old ape off the platform.
‘This guy becoming one of the five arena masters for the afternoon session is practically a certainty.’
As Yan thought this, the victor on the platform had already been decided.
The old ape swung its arms, its body beginning to spin like a top, rotating as it bore down on the Spear Player.
This was actually a mobile AoE skill!
Its massive fists whipped up gusts of wind, forcing the Spear Player to continuously retreat.
In the blink of an eye, the Spear Player had been pushed to the edge of the map, with no escape route left. The old ape pressed closer, appearing before the Spear Player in an instant, its thick arm swinging down onto the Spear Player’s head.
The Spear Player stood rooted to the spot as if stunned, a dizzying symbol appearing above his head.
‘It even has a stun effect!’
The old ape stopped its rotation, raising both fists high. Its ten furry fingers then clasped together, forming a massive hammer-like weapon.
A red circle appeared beneath the Spear Player’s feet, foreshadowing a powerful blow that would soon descend.
Yan saw this scene and, unable to bear it, closed his eyes.
He knew that in the next instant, the Spear Player, with only a third of his health remaining, would be struck full-on by the old ape’s heavily swinging fists, his health bar emptied, and the match lost.
‘This is quite a formidable opponent…’
‘I wonder how I would fare against him?’
As Yan pondered, he slowly opened his eyes. Sure enough, only the towering figure of the old ape remained on the platform, along with words that appeared in the sky.
“Winner: Zhen Bupo”
‘Zhen Bupo, huh?’
‘It seems I’ll have to pay close attention to him.’
Yan tilted his head, his intense gaze piercing through the screen, settling on the massive body of the old ape in the arena.